London Transport Museum’s six weeks of engineering challenges

Start Date: July 21, 2018

End Date: September 02, 2018

Families can delve into the fun and fascinating world of engineering during six weeks of STEM related interactive challenges, storytelling and demonstrations. Each week a new transport challenge will explore themes such as steam, electricity and design.

Young engineers can collect sticker rewards for each session attended and a special London Transport Museum Diploma will be awarded to those attending one or more weeks of activity. Suitable for children aged 3 to 12 years.

The Great Summer of Engineering is also part of The Holiday Makers a campaign from the Year of Engineering to get kids discovering the world of engineering through activities, challenges and events across the UK this summer.

Pop-up STEM activities with the Museum’s Year of Engineering 2018 partners

To support and complement the Museum’s six weeks of summer family fun engineering challenges, there will also be a range of new pop-up STEM activities for all the family which will be delivered by the Museum’s Year of Engineering Partners: Jacobs, Mastercard, Mott MacDonald and telent Technology Services.

Activities can be enjoyed by all, but are aimed at young people aged 7 and above.

HMG Government Envoy for the Year of Engineering, Stephen Metcalfe MP said:

“The Year of Engineering is all about showing young people how they could shape the world around us as engineers, from sending rockets to space and putting the bubbles in chocolate to helping all of us get around whether that’s on buses, trains or bicycles. That’s why I’m delighted to see London Transport Museum inspiring the next generation with its Great Summer of Engineering.

“This summer we’re encouraging families to get involved in the Holiday Makers, a campaign from the Year of Engineering to get children making, inventing and discovering the wonder of engineering, and these activities at London Transport Museum are a great way to take part. Whether children love problem-solving, trying out new technology or getting creative, the Great Summer of Engineering challenges are sure to spark their imagination.”

Six weeks of engineering challenges

WEEK 1 – Buses and power, 21 to 29 July

Tackle an obstacle course using a mini wind-up bus to discover what keeps the bus moving and what will make it stop, and join an interactive storytime session about bus adventures of the past.

WEEK 2 – Underground steam, 30 July to 5 August

Dress up in top hats, bonnets and moustaches and enjoy a demonstration of the Museum’s Steam Cannon before embarking on a set of ingenious engineering tasks that explores some of the skills and techniques that would have been used to build London’s first underground railway over 150 years ago.

WEEK 3 – Building and Materials, 6 to 12 August

Get involved with an interactive demonstration on cobbles and metal and then visit the experimentation stations to test out different materials and discover the effects they can have on your dream ideas.

WEEK 4 – Circuit trail, 13 to 19 August

Find out what an electric circuit is and how important they are to our everyday lives from real life engineers. Then follow our circuit trails to have a go at a ‘snap circuit’ challenge.

WEEK 5 – Moving parts, 20 to 26 August

Pick and choose from a ‘conveyor belt’ of parts to create a mini moving bus, and help Evelyn the Engineer and Gus the Bus find their way around London during the Museum’s fun story time sessions.

WEEK 6 – Future: Dreamer, Planner, Fixer? 27 August to 3 September

Drop in to the Museum’s four challenge stations and solve problems, make decisions and experiment to find out if you can help solve the engineering problems of the future.

Pop-up STEM activities

28 to 29 July:

Find out how Mott MacDonald engineers design London’s Underground stations to make them work better for the people who use them every day. Activities include the chance to explore a real pedestrian modelling software called STEPS and families will have the opportunity to pit their wits and adapt a model train station to different scenarios. Children can also investigate how engineers use virtual reality (VR) in the design and construction of stations.

11 to 12 August:

Discover how Jacobs engineers and other professionals deliver real transport projects in London and across the country and why specific materials are better for specific jobs. Working together, visitors can learn how they can find better solutions for most challenges engineers face day to day. Kids can take away a badge or flag to remember their visit.

Bridge Building: use a variety of materials, but beware, each comes with a monetary value and you need to keep in budget to complete your bridge. Colour-in and learn more about a range of exciting Jacobs projects, and see how different each engineering department can be.

13 to 17 August:

Mastercard is bringing its award-winning signature STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) education programme, Girls4Tech to the Museum! Supported by Mastercard volunteers, young visitors can take part in interactive problem solving activities associated with Big Data and Digital Convergence, learn about STEM principles and the range of skills that are needed to succeed in a STEM career.

Big Data

In order to be useful, data must be collected, organised, cleaned up and analysed. Effective analysis of big data can help us not only explain the past but also plan for the future. Families will collect data cards and work together to organise and clean up data to solve a Big Data problem.

Digital Convergence

Our devices are becoming more connected, helping to simplify our lives. Explore familiar technologies, ranging from the least to the most technologically advanced and learn about biometrics and the future of payment technology. Watch a demonstration of Near Field Communications and discover how this technology lets phones and payment terminals “whisper” to each other.

1 to 2 September:

Come and explore the systems used and maintained by telent Technology Services at Underground stations across London. Visitors can make their own station announcements, roleplay at station help points and pit their wits against a buzz wire game. Engineering apprentices and graduates are on hand to support you every step of the way and talk about their own engineering experiences.

General information

Children aged under 18 enter the Museum free.

Tickets on the door are priced at £17.50 for adults and £15.00 for concessions.

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